AND KEY WORDS The purpose of my thesis is to analyze the institute of criminal informant as a legal instrument in the fight against organized crime. I introduce the historical background of cooperation between criminals and state on uncovering criminal activities. Then I follow with the analysis of current Czech legislation of cooperating accused and the so far limited cases of its application and also offer a comparative view of the law and its application in United States, Great Britain and Slovakia. The thesis is composed of six chapters. Chapter One is introductory and defines basic terminology used in the thesis: cooperating accused and crown witness. In this chapter I argue that the terms can be used interchangeably In the second chapter I introduce the history of cooperation between criminals and the state. Special subsection deals with the development of Czech legislation on cooperating accused. Chapter Three examines relevant Czech legislation and the limited number of documented cases of application of the institute. Chapter Four offers a comparative view of relevant legislation and approach to decision-making by trial courts in the United States and Great Britain and also the legislation passed in neighboring Slovakia. Chapter Five concentrates on problems resulting from organized crime,...

The aim of this Diploma thesis is to elaborate on the topic of the fight against organized crime with a focus on criminal instruments of such a fight. Organized crime is undoubtedly a unique and dynamic phenomenon that penetrates almost every area of society. Currently it is one of the most serious global risks threatening the stability, security and development of civil society. The Diploma thesis begins with the definition of terms such as organized crime, then it deals with the causes, structure, selected forms of organized crime as well as its perception in the international community. The following chapter deals with the historical development of organized crime and the context between its boom in our territory and the fall of the Iron Curtain. The third chapter is a key part of this thesis and contains a substantive regulation of the prosecution of organized crime. It defines the terms of an organized criminal group and an organized group contained in the Criminal Code, describes the offense of participating in an organized criminal group and the limits of punishing this crime. The next chapter de lege lata discusses the most effective procedural instruments for combating organized crime, in particular the operational investigative means of criminal investigation. The penultimate chapter...

Zusammenarbeitende Angeklagte Diese Diplomarbeit befasst sich mit der Problematik des Instituts des "zusammenarbeitenden Angeklagten", dessen Regelung in die strafrechtlichen Vorschriften durch die Novelle des Strafgesetzbuches Nr. 41/2009 Slg. verankert wurde, die am 1. 1. 2010 in Kraft trat. Die Tschechische Republik reagierte hiermit auf die Aufforderungen der internationalen Organisationen, die die Aufnahme der für die Bekämpfung der organisierten Kriminalität nötigen rechtlichen Instrumente verlangten. Das Phänomen des "zusammenarbeitenden Angeklagten", bzw. des Kronzeugen ruft rege Fachdebatten hervor, denn es stellt ein kontroverses Thema dar. Die Straftäter können nämlich für ihre Zusammenarbeit mit den im konkreten Fall tätigen Organen mit bis zur vollständigen Straffreiheit belohnt werden. Vor allem setzt sich diese Arbeit zum Ziel, die wirksame Rechtsregelung des "zusammenarbeitenden Angeklagten" zu beschreiben, auf einige strittige Aspekte aufmerksam zu machen und zu beurteilen, ob die Verankerung dieses Rechtsinstruments als gerecht gesehen werden kann. Die Diplomarbeit besteht aus sechs Grundkapiteln, die weiter aufgegliedert und ausführlicher ausgearbeitet werden. Im ersten Kapitel liegt der Schwerpunkt in der Klassifikation der Begriffe "zusammenarbeitender Angeklagter" und...

This diploma thesis deals with position of a witness in criminal proceeding. The first part, it defines a conception of a witness; focuses on legal process aspects of position of a witness and also on capability to act as a witness in criminal proceeding. The second part, is given attention to performing evidence by witness, to rules of examination of a witness, including rules of examination of witnesses less than 15 years old. The third part defines rights and duties of a witness in criminal proceedings as they result not only from Criminal Procedure Act but also from constitutional principles. There is closer focus on witness' duty to testify, to liability to participate in confrontation and recognition (as special kinds of evidence). Another focus is on some witnesses' rights: rights to deny giving testimony and right to legal help and mainly to right to afford security of a witness. The last, four part deals with institute of crown witness (accomplice witness). This institute is not included into Czech legal system yet.

Kronvittnessystem har vid ett flertal tillfällen diskuterats i svensk politik som en möjlig åtgärd i arbetet mot organiserad brottslighet. Ett kronvittne är en person som vittnar om sin egen eller andras brottslighet och på grund av detta erhåller ett mildare straff för sina brott. Flera andra länder använder sig av kronvittnessystem på grund av de nyttor som finns med det, men forskning visar att det även finns problem med systemet. Syftet med denna studie är att besvara frågan vad kriminella personer har för uppfattning om att kronvittna i ett kronvittnessystem. Kvalitativa intervjuer genomfördes med före detta kriminella med erfarenhet av organiserad brottslighet. Resultaten visade att det fanns många aspekter av att kronvittna som skulle leda till problem. Det mest framträdande resultatet var bilden av det hot och våld som blir en effekt mot den person som kronvittnar, samt mot denna persons familj och vänner. Det rådde stor konsensus om att ett kronvittnessystem är farligt för människor och för med sig svåra konsekvenser. Resultaten pekar på att kriminella personer inte vill se ett kronvittnessystem införas i Sverige. / Crown witness systems have previously been discussed in Swedish politics as a possible way to fight organized crime. A crown witness, or supergrass, is a person who in return for giving information about his or her own crime or another person’s crime, is rewarded with a penalty discount. Many other countries use crown witness methods because of the positive things with doing so, but studies also show that there are problems with such a procedure. The purpose of this study is to answer the question what opinions criminals have about being a crown witness/accomplice witness within a crown witness system. The method that was used was interviews with former criminals who had experience regarding organized crime. The results showed that there are many aspects of testifying as a crown witness that would lead to problems. The most important result was that the crown witness and its family and friends would as an affect of the testimony be subjects of threats and violence against them. It was agreed that a crown witness system is dangerous for people and lead to severe consequences. The results indicate that criminals do not want to see a crown witness system be incorporated in Sweden.